ENERGY: WIND
Harnessing
Natural Energy
Multiple simulation tools are used as a cost-effective
way to design reliable offshore wind turbines.
By Fabian R. Vorpahl, Holger Huhn and Hans-Gerd Busmann, Fraunhofer Center for
Wind Energy and Maritime Engineering (CWMT), Bremerhaven, Germany
Stefan Kleinhansl, Aero Dynamik Consult GmbH, Neuhausen/Stuttgart, Germany
Governments around the world are looking to offshore
wind power because of its potential as a reliable source of
inexpensive, renewable energy. However, developing wind
farms in a marine environment comes with a new set of engi-
neering challenges. The support structures for these offshore
wind turbines (OWTs), for example, must be designed to
function effectively in deep water and with large turbines.
Offshore projects also present challenges to design engi-
neers, manufacturers and operators because storms, rough
seas and saltwater subject the entire turbine and its associ-
ated support structure to extreme stresses. Engineering
simulation is a valuable tool for designing cost-efficient and
reliable large-frame OWTs.
To evaluate OWT designs for life expectancy and certifi-
cation, detailed analysis of critical parts of the turbine is
very important in order to predict fatigue. The OWTs being
studied consist of a turbine and tower that are attached to
Model
Rotor Nacelle Assembly
Controller
Rotor Drive Train
Tower
Substructure
Foundation
Support Structure
Structure of an offshore wind turbine and loads that must be considered for simulation
22 ANSYS Advantage Volume II, Issue 3, 2008
Image courtesy REPower
a partially submerged substructure. The substructure is
fastened to the ocean floor using foundation piles. In order to
obtain accurate results when simulating the overall system,
a number of effects must be considered simultaneously,
including loads from turbulent wind fields, the turbine control
system, loads resulting from waves and currents, the elastic
behavior of the support structure, and the soil characteristics
of the local sea bed.
To carry out the complex simulation of OWTs with
branched support structures, engineers at the Fraunhofer
Center for Wind Energy and Maritime Engineering (CWMT)
used a special purpose aeroelastic software, ADCoS. This
tool relates the influence of the environment (wind effect,
wave type and structure, sea state and behavior of the
ocean currents) and the soil-pile structural interactions, to
the structural capacity of the overall wind turbine. ADCoS,
developed by Aero Dynamik Consult Ingenieurgesellschaft,
has typically been utilized for onshore wind
turbines and has the capability to conduct a
detailed investigation of interacting loads
and the resulting dynamic response on an
Turbulent Wind Fields OWT. Extensive knowledge of all the load
(Aerodynamics)
sources and their interactions can help
improve the reliability of OWTs and is
vital for cost-effective operation of offshore
wind farms.
Before analyzing a turbines reaction to
wave loading, the CWMT engineering team
needed to develop a finite element model
of the entire structure. Researchers used
Waves and Currents
ANSYS Mechanical software to develop
(Hydrodynamics)
and define the support structure as a
parameterized beam model. Using the
SoilPile Interaction
ANSYS-to-ASAS translator, they trans-
ferred the model to ANSYS ASAS software.
Within the ANSYS ASAS Offshore
analysis tool, the engineering group used
www.ansys.com

Support structure as a beam model in ANSYS Mechanical
(left) and in ADCoS software (right)
ASAS-WAVE to calculate the wave loads on the support
structure. With the aid of ASAS-WAVE, loads resulting from
linear and nonlinear waves, as well as irregular sea states
and currents, were taken into account. The research team
calculated the loads using Morisons equation and then
exported the distributed member loads, as equivalent nodal
loads, into a text file for further use.
For the next step, the team conducted the nonlinear sim-
ulation of the foundation piles using the P-Y approach, as
recommended by the American Petroleum Institute. This
was done using SPLINTER, the soil-pile interaction tool, in
the ANSYS ASAS Offshore product. SPLINTER allows sim-
ulation of single piles or pile groups, including group
interaction effects via the soil medium. The outcomes of the
SPLINTER analyses were linearized stiffness matrices for
each pile head.
Finally the CWMT researchers performed the aero-
hydro-servo-elastic (nonlinear finite element) simulation
using the ADCoS software. In this step, engineers input the
model created in the ANSYS Mechanical software, the wave
loads from the ANSYS-WAVE tool and the stiffness matrices
from SPLINTER for the pile heads into ADCoS. The modeling
of the support structure, calculation of wave loads and com-
ANSYS Solutions
Structural Simulation
Definition of parameterized
support structure
Support structure
Optimization of the structure
model transferred to
Model used for ANSYS ADCoS using a macro
ASAS simulation
Offshore Simulation
Calculation of loads from Nodal loads
transferred as time
waves and currents on
support structure series in text file
Calculation of stiffness
matrices for pile elements Stiffness matrices
for pile elements
transferred as text files
Simulation process and data handling
www.ansys.com
ENERGY: WIND
Wave loads as simulated by ANSYS ASAS software
putation of soilpile interaction were executed using a single
Windows batch file. To date, some validation has been
completed, and further validation will be performed under
the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration project
(OC3) within the International Energy Agencys Wind
Annex XXIII.
In researching the interaction of wind and water with a
wind turbine structure, CWMT engineers use ANSYS
Mechanical functionality for creating the structural model
and the ANSYS ASAS Offshore suites extensive options to
account for hydrodynamic loads and soil characteristics.
The adaptive architecture of these tools allows them to be
connected to ADCoS, which then enables the simultaneous
aero-servo-hydro-elastic simulation of the OWT. Detailed
load history information and resulting fatigue data such as
rain flow counts, load spectra and damage equivalent
loads can be derived from ADCoS. Equipped with this
knowledge, CWMT can perform in-depth investigations
and optimization of critical parts, leading ultimately to
even more reliable and cost-effective OWTs for future wind
farm projects.
References
[1] Jonkman, J., Butterfield, S., Musial, W. and Scott, G., Definition of a
5-MW Reference Wind Turbine for Offshore System Development,
ADCoS Software NREL/TP-500-38060, Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy
Aeroelastic Simulation Laboratory, February 2007.
[2] Kleinhansl, S., Mayer, M. and Mangold, A. ADCoS A Nonlinear
Parameterized model
Aeroelastic Code for the Complete Dynamic Simulation of Offshore-
Structures and Lattice-Towers, DEWEK Proceedings, 2004.
[3] Vorpahl, F., Huhn, H., Busmann, H.-G. and Kleinhansl, S., A Flexible
Aeroelastic Simulation Approach for Offshore Wind Turbines,
European Offshore Wind Proceedings, 2007, www.eow
Deterministic and 2007proceedings.info/allfiles2/272_Eow2007fullpaper.pdf (11.06.08).
stochastic wind loads
[4] Nichols, J., Camp, T., Jonkman, J., Butterfield, S., Larsen, T., Hansen,
Loads from waves and A.M., Azcona, J., Martinez, A., Munduate, X. and Vorpahl, F., Offshore
irregular sea states Code Comparison Collaboration within IEA Wind Annex XXIII: Phase III
Soil characteristics Results Regarding Tripod Support Structure Modeling (to be published).
[5] http://www.cwmt.fraunhofer.de
[6] http://www.aero-dynamik.de
ANSYS Advantage Volume II, Issue 3, 2008 23